Vanguard Total Bond Market

BND

Market cap $134B

Short-term rate cuts may boost BND, but persistent inflation above 2% will compress real yields, reducing its competitiveness. That said, I acknowledge that BND is the leading passive U.S. aggregate bond ETF, offering low costs, high liquidity, and strong tracking of its benchmark. Political interference with the Fed poses systemic risks, potentially impacting yields and BND's performance.

U.S. stocks continued their momentum with a solid +2.30% return, while world stocks pulled back -1.12% after their strong June performance. The commodity surge pushed this asset class to +4.73% year-to-date, representing a remarkable turnaround from the challenging April decline.

The bond market looks increasingly focused on slowing economic growth vs. tariff inflation.

Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund ETF offers broad diversification, high credit quality, and moderate duration, making it ideal for conservative fixed-income investors. The fund's passive resampling strategy minimizes costs and tracking error, while its sensitivity to interest rates remains slightly below its benchmark. Current macro indicators—OIS spread, forward rates, and yield curve slope—signal stable liquidity, moderate rate expectations, and no imminent financial stress.

One old rule of thumb on Wall Street is that investors should put 60% of their assets in stocks and 40% in bonds to create a balanced portfolio. If you are aggressive, you could go 80/20, and if you are conservative, you could go 40/60.

When it comes time to retire, one of the biggest shocks people face is needing more income than they expected.

Vanguard is among the top exchange traded fund (ETF) providers, and actually was a pioneer of this industry.

Elevated interest rates and market uncertainty make for an interesting tandem regarding getting core bond exposure. When considering yield, reinforcing a portfolio to absorb market shocks, or both, consider this active option from Vanguard: the Vanguard Core-Plus Bond ETF (VPLS).

Even with the world on edge, with rising geopolitical tensions, uncertain interest rate moves and tech stocks showing some mood swings, ETF investors aren't running scared. They're doing something smarter: diversifying their bets.

VOO, SPY, IWM, BND and VTEB led ETF inflows last week as investors poured $22.7B into diverse fund categories.